Show Rundown

#1009: Domestic "In-tranquility"

Call 1

Kay Mason (, Colorado) - 1993 Ford Explorer

engine....38 year old daughter borrowed the car, and left it running overnight. Idled for about 7 hours. Did it do any damage? Do they need to blow out carbon? No, it should be fine--doesn't have a carburetor, so no need to blow out. Many cars idle for long periods. Don't worry about it.

Call 2

Tim Strollberg (Cromwell, Connecticut) - 1988 Saab 900

Fuel--2 problems. Car runs fine when gas tank is full, but starts running lousy as tank gets below half, and will occasionally even stall. Also, has trouble filling tank--pump keeps clicking off. Problem is likely evaporative system not working so tank is not venting properly--next time it misbehaves, try loosening gas cap...if problem goes away, that's it. If not, could be fuel pump.

Call 3

Chris Rice (, Illinois) - 1987 Volvo 240

parking/snow. Disagreement with husband. If you shovel out a parking space after snow, is it yours? Can you leave lawnchairs, etc to claim it? She says yes, husband thinks it looks trashy. Tom agrees with her--if you shovel, the space is yours. Ray thinks the law of the jungle applies.

Call 4

Jared Rockwoods (Salt Lake City, Utah) - 1982 Toyota Pickup

transmission... clutch was squealing, so he replaced the throwout bearing, clutch, and pressure plate. Also had an oil leak, so he replaced the pan gasket. Now hears a chirping sound when clutch pedal is moving. Could just be that ball on fork needs greasing. Ifthat doesn't help, thrust baring in engine could be worn out, which would also account for oil leak. Very bad news, but he doesn't have trouble shifting, so it's unlikely to be that.

Call 5

Carole (Travers City, Michigan) - Dodge

Electric/door locks. Daughter uses car, electric door locks keep going up and down, even when car is off...it's killing batteries. Simple fix? If locks are on their own fuse, can just pull it. Otherwise, find the relay and disconnect, and just use locks manually.

Call 6

Dennis Whittington (, Kentucky) - 1995 Nissan Altima

starting/washing. Wife's car. Last two times he's washed it in the driveway and pulled it back in the garage, it won't start the next day. Mechanic couldn't replicate, but replaced cap, fuel filter and sparkplugs. Hasn't tried washing since. Likely problem is sparkplug wires--when he puts the car back in the garage, it's still wet, and moisture is shorting out wires. Needs to replace them, because soon car won't start in heavy rain.

Call 7

Kerri Justice (, Ohio) - 1997 Subaru Outback

brakes...had grinding, metal on metal sound...mechanic said it was just dust, and pads looked fine, but she replaced them anyway, with semi-metallic pads. Still getting noise. Guys say it's nothing to worry about--some cars just do this. She can try immersing pads in chemical, or just turn radio up loud.

Call 8

Ben Hinckonson (Kings Beach, California) - GMC Pickup

engine/fire/ Wouldn't start, so he sprayed etherized starting fluid, which got it to start, but also caused flames. So he sprayed a fire extinguisher. He's replaced the fuel pump and it starts now, but he's worried about dried extinguisher stuff ruining cylinders. Tried vacuuming out. It's probably fine--what caused the fire was likely that etherized stuff replaced the fuel that the pump wasn't providing, and caused a backfire. Vacuuming was dangerous, and he's lucky that something really bad didn't happen.